Shades of Grey
by Lavyln
Summary: When Hermione goes abroad she discovers a whole new face to the world of magic and is thrown into the chaos of a war that has been raging, albeit silently, for ages. HGSS Full sumarry inside
1. 00 Tiny introduction

**SUMMARY: **When Hermione goes abroad she discovers a whole new face to the world of magic and is thrown into the chaos of a war that has been raging, albeit silently, for ages. On one end stand they who live to merely continue and on the other end stands the whole world. Severus Snape X Hermione Granger.

**ERA: **Call it AU, I'm completely ignoring Dumbledore's demise and that of Sirius and Lupin as well… Forget every book after HP and the goblet of fire, this fic was inspired by one of the greatest fan fictions I have ever read, go try it!

**DISCLAIMER: **This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**AUTHOR's NOTE**: So, like I said above I got this idea while reading one of the greatest fics I've ever read ( http :// www. witchfics. org/ anna/ romanholiday/ index. Html don't forget to take away the spaces) oh and I hope to update this one regularly though I really make no promises, my other fic (which I sort of lost inspiration for) isn't going to get updated anytime soon, one can only hope of course. Well, anyways, I've got a good feeling for this story so I'm going to try my best… this is just a small introduction though so don't expect much of it it's just well, just that a small introduction, not even worth the term 'prologue' it's way too short for that…

Oh, right, I haven't quite decided what the rating is going to be… Could be M could be something else…

The small 'introduction' not worth term of prologue.

« I wonder what Hermione's doing… » Ron said, while staring absentmindedly into the fire, a not even half finished essay in front of him, all but forgotten.

« Wait 'till Christmas and we'll know. » Came Harry Potters reply he was still scribbling away on a piece of parchment, checking his a leather bounded book every now and then again.

« I wish she was here. » The redheaded boy sighed wistfully and Harry looked up from his essay with his eyebrows slightly raised. « She'd know the why, where and when of Ashwinger eggs. » Harry picked up the book again then dropped it on the table, sighing.

« Yeah, » he agreed, heaving another sigh « she'd know alright… »

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« You're going to… _What_? » Minerva McGonagall broke the stunned silence and stared at him, her voice was slightly higher pitched than usual. He couldn't help but be a little annoyed, they were _all _staring at him.

« I'm taking time off… » he repeated again. Even Albus Dumbledore, for maybe the first time, looked baffled. Inwardly he sighed and rolled his eyes « I've already found someone to take over my classes while I'm gone and if my I'm correct, Albus, you owe me… » he paused for a moment « three years worth of holidays, give or take. » most of the professors in the room were still too shocked to say anything.

« But it's in the middle of the school year! » McGonagall protested, he raised his eyebrows « It's September, Minerva, September. Besides my replacement will arrive tomorrow. » his black eyed gaze swept over the gathered personnel. Dumbledore cleared his throat, he had an inkling his friend wasn't going to take no for an answer this time, no his mind was made up alright. « When can we expect you back then? »

« Ah, I don't know, could be a year or more, » he shrugged and then inwardly he smiled as the shock on the faces of his colleagues increased.

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« Are you sure? » he asked dropping a freshly baked omelette and some bacons on her plate « I mean… » he trailed of as he turned back to the little kitchenette, turned off the hotplate and placed his frying pan in the sink before joining her. She made a small 'hmn-ing' noise before digging in and eating as fast as she could. He gave her a disapproving glance before sighing. « I mean, it's teaching, you sure you want that? I know you like kids and all but… » he sighed again and shook his head, they'd been over the same conversation who knows how many times now and he guessed he should just give up.

When she had cleaned her plate with some bread she gave a content sigh and got up, smiling. « Don't worry so much about me, Anwar I'll be fine. » he gave another deep sigh « If you say so… »

« Well, I'm off then, don't want too be late. »

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**AUTHOR's NOTE: **Well, that's the short thingy… : ) I hope I haven't scared any of my possible readers because this tiny thing is so short and awfully written but anyway. Gosh, I'm spending more time on my bloody summary than actually writing this crappy thing… In my other fic I said review were appreciated but not really necessary (well, not like I can force you or anything…) though I am sort of really, really hoping you're going to review… It just gives me a boost to write. Right… Well, see ya!


	2. CH1: Alexandra

**SUMMARY: **When Hermione goes abroad she discovers a whole new face to the world of magic and is thrown into the chaos of a war that has been raging, albeit silently, for ages. On one end stand they who live to merely continue and on the other end stands the whole world. Severus Snape X Hermione Granger.

**ERA**: Call it AU, I'm completely ignoring Dumbledore's demise and that of Sirius and Lupin as well… Forget every book after HP and the goblet of fire, this fic was inspired by one of the greatest fan fictions I have ever read, go try it!

**DISCLAIMER: **This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Okay, just so all of you know I do realise that someone from Japan would probably have TONS of problems with saying 'Hermione Granger' but let us just forget about that particular detail. And any Japanese words used will be explained at the bottom. Oh, and because I think it's a bit to impersonal I'm forgetting about the custom of calling people by their last name as well : )

PS: I just wish to tell all of you that all of my chapters writing style may differ, this chapter is written in first person perspective but the next could be third person for all I know. Remember, variation's good for the soul right?

Shades of grey

Chapter 01

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Hermione POV

God! I just couldn't believe it even though I knew it was true and I saw the evidence of truth just outside my window. It was a very big window and the view was magnificent. Though the view was magnificent and my apartment was very nice too I knew I had much work left, I still had some major unpacking and decorating business to do.

My apartments existed out of four rooms, a small kitchenette, a bathroom (with sink, shower and toilet), a medium sized bedroom and a pretty big living room all of the rooms separated by shoji doors. Just how I wanted it, a big, big, living room with a comfy couch and an armchair for my late night reading. I loved it, despite the fact it was all still very white but I would remedy that soon.

Though I wanted to get started as soon as possible on decorating my lovely apartment I had an appointment to catch with someone who was going to show me around my new school. I was thrilled, to say the least and as I sat on a hideous orange chair while the metro rattled around me I couldn't help but feel that I was the luckiest girl on the planet.

I, Hermione Granger, got a full scholarship for one of the most famous universities currently in existence, the Hakushiki University of Tokyo, Japan. I got off the metro after fifteen minutes and found myself on a short walk to the university. Strangely enough this university was accessible for non-wizarding folk as much as wizard and witches this was something I found even better as I could now pursue my favourite subjects to my hearts content.

« Hermione Granger? » a voice called and I turned around, startled. I had been following the high stone wall surrounding the main building searching for the entrance. When I had turned around I saw a woman coming towards me from the other end of the street she stopped right in front of me and gave me a smile and bowed politely. « Ohayougozaimasu! » the woman said. Luckily I had learned the usual necessities of the everyday language during the summer holidays so I knew that the woman had just greeted me. I gave her a smile back and a small bow « Ohayougozaimasu. » She grinned.

« I see you've already made yourself familiar with our customs, good. » she gave me another bright grin « Okay, I'm Fukao Dai and I'm the one who's going to show you around the university. » I nodded and got a good look at her. She had the regular dark hair of almost all the natives it was cut pretty short and a little messy. She wore dark rimmed glasses with jeans and a white shirt. « Okay! » the girl said cheerfully « this way! »

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Ariana POV

I opened my eyes slowly and let out a soft groan, tiny streaks of sunlight found their way through my window and the curtains that were supposed to block the bloody light out. I growled moodily and closed my eyes again, grabbing the pillow from under my own head and putting it on top. I needed sleep, seriously. Though I knew that hoping for a few more minutes of blissful sleep was foolish, she'd be banging on my door any minute now, yes, any minute.

When no banging came I blinked a few times, strange, she was late. I sighed and gingerly sat up rubbing the sleep from eyes. Even though she should have been banging on my door -and I was glad she hadn't for once- I knew I should get up. Work to do after all.

Slowly I lifted my feet of the bed and onto the cold stone floor, I shivered from the sudden change of temperature and suppressed the need to dive back in bed, beneath the warm covers. I hesitated a moment- wondering if I could get away with wrapping the blankets around myself- before standing up and grabbing some clothes out of my closet.

When I was finally done with getting dressed in a dark coloured jeans and black blouse with grey top underneath I sat down on the bed again and started to pull on my nice looking but very un-practical shoes. When I was done with those I decided that I was going to sit on my bed for another minute, recuperating from the early exercise. I yawned once, gave my cheek a good rub and stood up from my beloved bed and slid the shoji out of my way.

When I stepped into the deserted hall I heard muffled voices coming from downstairs. I fought the urge to go and have a peek of whom could visit us this early in the morning and instead turned to my immediate right and opened the door to the bathroom. Why my door was shoji and most of the others in the house weren't was really beyond me.

We had a pretty big bathroom with bath, shower and sink, the toilet was downstairs. As I stood before the mirror I took a good look at the damage that I had inflicted upon myself during the night. Yes, my face was screaming 'please let's just stop staying up so late!' but as usual I ignored the silent pleas.

This was all part of my usual morning ritual, splashing ice cold water on my face use some special made cream for… Well for whatever reason. When I was done with brushing my teeth and all the other mundane tasks I looked up at the mirror again and looked as good as new. I gave myself a soft smile, grabbed my glasses (simple black ones) and put them in the pocket of my long summer jacket. There, ready for the day to come and I went downstairs.

To my great surprise I found Trinity sitting at the table in our small kitchen, she had a serious look about her, even more so than usual. It made me a bit nervous, as far as I knew business had been going really well and seeing that I was the one who gathered information and such I should be the one who knew if there was any trouble first.

Trinity's black eyes snapped up to me as I sat down and poured myself a cup of coffee and grabbed one of the three remaining pastries. I liked days when Soleil went to get breakfast, we had western breakfast then, with lots of pastries like pain au chocolat and pain au raisins, truly divine. Trinity stared at me from across the table for a moment before returning to a piece of parchment she appeared so concentrated on.

I ate my breakfast in silence and wondered what in the world could be going on with the dark haired girl opposite of me. When she was finished reading she put down the piece of parchment and gazed outside the grimy window. The bleak light that filtered through the glass didn't reach the table we were sitting at even though it was a rather sunny day. When I finished my pain au chocolat and gulped down the rest of my coffee I stood up and went to the sink.

It was only after I had placed my plate and cup on top of everyone else's dishes and performed a quick charm with my light coloured wand to make them wash themselves and sat back at the table that Trinity decided to speak up. « I just got a letter, » she said and I waited patiently for her to continue when she trailed off. She just sat in silence for a moment, staring off into space until she shook herself out of her reverie. « Uhh… Here, read it. » She then said and threw me the piece of parchment.

As my eyes scanned the letter she stood up and grabbed one of the freshly washed cups and poured herself some coffee. She rubbed her sleek black hair and murmured. « Has he even heard the rumours? » I finished the letter quite quickly even though it was a pretty long parchment and it was covered in writing until the last few millimetres and the handwriting was tiny, not to mention messy. When I was done I sighed and took my glasses out of my pocket and put them on. « Guess I better get started then. »

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Severus POV

I still have to smirk when I remember the shocked faces of my students that day when I told them I was leaving Hogwarts for a still unknown period of time. I think the Gryffindors were about to faint. I gave a content sigh as my eyes scanned my private room for things I might have forgotten.

I was taking quite a bit with me to place in the apartment I had rented. I gave a curt nod to myself when I saw that I had everything with me. A simple charm later all the remaining things flew from their original places to an empty room. Alexandra could do with the rooms as she pleased, my things were carefully stored and locked away.

Alexandra, thinking of her made me smirk as well. I was a bit disappointed that I was going to miss her first few classes, seeing the faces of the students when confronted with the casual and self-assured witch would have proved amusing and Minerva's face. I didn't think she was going to like my replacement, Alexandra was the kind of free witch that Minerva usually disapproved of, especially if she was going to teach young minds, Albus was going to have the time of his life though…

Though I was disappointed in that aspect of my leaving I had an inkling that my journey was going to be pretty amusing. I almost couldn't wait, though I had to. I gave one more look around me before leaving for the Great Hall and my last dinner at Hogwarts.

When I entered the hall I noticed it was in an unusual subdued mood. Though subdued wasn't exactly the word, the students were all having muffled conversations. Ah, yes, the famous (or rather, infamous) Hogwarts Gossiping Mill had been put to good use, I told one class of fourth years and two hours later the whole school knew and it was a pretty big school. But I couldn't care less though and made my way to the Staff table.

Dinner passed rather uneventful though the whole student body seemed to be sneaking subtle glances at me when the tables were cleared and the last crumbs had all but disappeared from our plated students started to leave and I followed soon after going to make sure I'd done everything I should have.

After I had triple checked everything and was finally satisfied I went to my office and just sat there. In front of me lay a tower of seventh year essays on Ashwinder eggs and sixth year essays on the phases of the moon I wondered if I should correct them or leave that particular joy to Alexandra… As form of welcome, yes, a welcome to the hell of teaching dunderheads and reading their idiotic essays.

When I had sat glaring at them for a sufficient amount of time I came to a compromise, mark the first half now and leave the rest for Alexandra, yes, perfect. So I started to mark one stupid essay after another. The knock came after fifteen minutes of marking. As I put down my quill I said a quiet « enter » and the door opened slowly. Draco Malfoy stepped into my office.

I raised my eyebrows slightly, a bit surprised and gestured towards one of the chairs opposite of me. He sat down slowly, keeping his eyes downcast and purposely avoiding my gaze. « Mr. Malfoy, to what do I owe the pleasure? » I said, slightly sarcastic. The young Malfoy gave me a tiny smile that all but disappeared a moment later. « Um, I've heard that your leaving…? » I let out a soft snort and his grey eyes flickered to me, startled. « Yes, well, » I said « I think by now the whole school knows even if they've been living under a rock. » Malfoy gave me a small smile, a mere movement at the corner of his lips. « True then? » I nodded. « I'm taking a holiday. » I gave a soft shrug « I don't now when I'll be back. » he looked disappointed which I found odd « oh » came his sole reply.

I knew that the young Malfoy had become slightly dependant on me over the last year inwardly I sighed wondering how I was going to handle this situation. I felt responsible for the young man who sat opposite of me as I was the one who guided him from the Dark to the Light to put it in cliché terms and because of that he was also banned from Slytherin house common room spending his nights in an old broom closet. Though it had been expanded to fit a bed, small desk and wardrobe. His time between classes had been divided between going to the library, his room or the dungeons, usually helping me out.

« You can keep on using the dungeons, if you wish, Alexandra will have no objection. » I said finally after a long silence. He looked surprised « Alexandra? » he said « your replacement? » I nodded and he looked only a tiny bit relieved

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Alexandra POV

I was feeling tired, really really tired. I was glad I had booked a hotel room before getting on the damn plane how muggles could travel in something like that was beyond me but as there had been no wizarding ships heading to Britain I had had no choice but to come by plane. So now I stood somewhere in London with my trunk not knowing where my hotel actually was. Damn.

Seeing that the sun was beginning her descend I decided I had no time to stroll around London, putting everything on good old reliable luck to find my hotel. I turned around and spotted a victim. It was an old couple, one could see and determined I walked towards them. « Excuse me, » I said, always polite « Do you know where I can find Blakemore hotel? It shouldn't be far from Hyde Park, wherever that is… » I really didn't have a clue about London and Britain in general and I certainly didn't know anything about France and I didn't spoke one bloody word French.

« Nous ne parlons pas l'anglais. » the elderly man said. Oh, crap. I gave them a small -and I hope apologetic- smile. I quickly moved away and soon found my next victim. That victim was a middle-aged woman from Wales apparently who knew about as much as I did, concerning London.

I don't have to say that my mood worsened. I couldn't really help it, I am a grumpy sort of person after all. I was lucky that the next person I asked didn't know the Blakemore hotel but he did know where Hyde park was. I obediently followed his directions and soon found myself at the entrance of the park, it looked forbidding in the dark and even slightly creepy with a peeping swing somewhere.

I sighed and shook my head looking for some kind of life to ask where my bloody hotel was. I got lucky on the first try, this time and after no time at all I was standing in the entrance hall of the hotel. I was happy to be inside, nights in Britain were already becoming quite chilly.

I checked in and quickly went to my room so I could just fall on my bed and sleep. I was going to get up early the next morning and head to Hogwarts because I had an inkling that Severus was going to leave early and I wanted to at least say hi to him and hand him the message Ariana had send me earlier. I fell a sleep when my head hit the pillow.

I woke up early as I had wanted and ate a fast but filling breakfast and left the hotel. I stretched out my left hand (my wand hand) and the purple knightbus appeared before me I got on and paid the pretty young conductor telling him to get me to Hogwarts. I was lucky that it was so early and that there were very few people on the bus. So after a small hour and a half the knightbus left me at the gates of Hogwarts.

I looked up to the castle in the early morning light it had been many years since I had last seen the castle and it had been a short visit then but it had intrigued me nonetheless, I was fascinated by the castle, the magic within as much as its surroundings. That was the reasons why I had accepted Severus' request in the first place after came the fact that I like potions and kids. Though I was a little worried on how I was going to fit in, fitting in was a difficult task for one like me.

I opened the gates silently still immersed into my thoughts but I soon stopped my worried thinking and started to take in the sight of my surroundings. The grass was still wet with dew and a low sheen of mist was still sticking to the ground. The lake's surface rippled as the giant squid moved one of its tentacles lazily. I smiled, hoping I was going to get a chance to investigate that particular beast a bit and send the results of standard test to Anwar for Christmas, for the geek that he really was.

As I came closer to the castle I saw that the big front door was open and students were already out of bed and going to the Great Hall. I suppressed a smile as I saw Severus coming out, I was right on time. My suppressed smile was going to widen when I saw that the students were gaping openly at his back and at my arrival especially when we both stopped in front of each other.

« Sorry Severus, unfortunately I was on to you and came here a few hours early. » was the first thing I said. He sighed and I could see the corners of his lips turn up a bit. « So, hi, Severus, long time no see. » he inclined his head « It has been long. » I gave him a cheeky smile « Ah, here I was hoping for flowers or some kind of 'hello, it's been long I've missed your unmistakable bright presence' » he rolled his eyes at me and my grin widened slightly.

« Well, » he said then, sarcasm dripping of every syllable « what can I do for you? » I grabbed the thick letter that Trinity had send me and handed it to him. « I suggest reading it sooner then later, she seemed positively… irritated and I mean… Really, really » I trailed of and gave him another smile even though he didn't notice. He was opening the letter and pulled out the first parchment I couldn't help but notice that Trinity had written in big capital letters. After he read the first few lines he put the parchment back in.

« Save to say she's not very happy » he said, it in a cool voice and I raised my eyebrows « I'll pray that she doesn't kill you when she sees you… » he glared at me. « Well! » I then said, clapping my hands together « Guess asking for a tour of the school would be stupid and foolish at most? »

He didn't even deign to answer me.

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_**-Shoji doors**_a shōji (障子) is a room divider or door consisting of translucent washi paper over a wooden frame. Shoji doors are often designed to slide open, or fold in half, to conserve space that would be required by a swinging door (Wikipedia)

_**-Hakushiki**_Extensive knowledge (the university)

_**-Ohayougozaimasu: **_'Good morning'

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: If I forgot a translation please tell me so I can correct it and I'm also sorry if there are spelling or grammar errors in the story but just so all of you know, I'm not native English (I'm Dutch) and I'm still waiting until a beta magically appears… (Yes that's a hint…)

Also it's custom in Japan that you bow when you greet someone or when you apologize and so… And they use a suffix after the name and I'm going to explain them here already (but I'll add them in the following chapters as well.) and if I'm wrong please tell me.

-**Chan: **Usually used by girls, I think and only by close friends or… For example an elderly lady to her grandson or daughter. It can be used to address boys but is uncommon and also used by superiors to address inferiors.

**-Kun: **Same as the above but instead of girls using it to address each other it's boys now. Or a (male) superior to a (male) inferior and also used by close friends.

**-San: **Is for both male as female and is a little more formal for people that don't know each other very well or for a boss to an employee or an employee to a boss…

-**Sensei: **Used to address teachers.

**-Sama: **Used for people more up on the social ladder, if you get what I mean.

Well that's about it : ) So, thanks for reading and I'm hoping for some reviews…? (Yes, another one of my subtle hints)


	3. CH2: Soleil

**SUMMARY: **When Hermione goes abroad she discovers a whole new face to the world of magic and is thrown into the chaos of a war that has been raging, albeit silently, for ages. On one end stand they who live to merely continue and on the other end stands the whole world. Severus Snape X Hermione Granger.

**ERA**: Call it AU, I'm completely ignoring Dumbledore's demise and that of Sirius and Lupin as well… Forget every book after HP and the goblet of fire. Though I do use things we learned about during all the books and interviews, etc.

**DISCLAIMER: **This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Yes, I finished, sorry for the delay and all that I just got caught up with some extremely good HP stories and a few books that are just… drools (Anyways, you really want to read Stephenie meyers Twilight, New Moon and then Eclipse)

Also I might want to tell all of you that Hermione arrived a few days earlier then the first of September.

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Chapter 02

Soleil

I swore softly under my breath as I felt the grass underneath my fingers in my squatted position on the grassy hill. I saw the cold body of the dead man lying a little further. It was one of ours, that I knew. Someone had killed one of our men, that pissed me off. I realise I never knew the man personally but it still pissed me off. I glared at the body and sighed. I shouldn't dawdle, the police would arrive on the crime scene soon, I had called them myself after all. Though it would be filled away as an 'unsolved crime' soon I believed that they should take the body of the man to his family and give him a proper funeral.

I straightened and looked at the west side of Tokyo which extended from my point on, the sun shining into my eyes. I blinked a few times and then moved away. My hands stowed deeply into my jeans pockets I decided not to return home yet but dawdle somewhere else a little longer. My mind was still too occupied with the mystery of the man's murder to concentrating on our new job.

It is so that I soon found myself in a dingy bar on the outskirts of Tokyo swirling around the clear alcoholic beverage in my little cup. The patron, whom I was familiar with, had left the bottle by my side for which I was grateful. As I wasn't quite 21 yet I wasn't allowed to drink by law but the patron had since long ago decided that I was old enough by mind though at times he had expressed some concern for me when I had been drinking extensively.

That drinking extensively had been increasing over the past two and some months. Stupid snake bastard even effected us all the way to Japan. The bastard. « All that drinking isn't doing you any good and such a pretty girl you are! »

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The man had been drinking for quite a while now. While some would say he was up early, those that knew him would say, disapprovingly, 'he's up late'. He had been sitting in the same, shadowy bar since eleven in the evening, the day before to nine in the morning today.

He was a foreigner, that was for sure. As his eyes were like people's from the west and he was white-skinned, unlike the more coloured skin of the Japanese. He wore a dark coloured jeans covered in dirt, dust and grime alike. His beige shirt was in no better condition, neither was his face. His beard hadn't been cut in a very long time and his nose was red at the tip while his eyes had huge bags.

The bar had an old medieval look around it, western medieval nonetheless. The patron of the bar was western as well and his furniture didn't even closely resemble anything Japanese. It had wooden tables, roughly cut with heavy chairs. The sole two windows the bar had were so dirty that they almost dimmed the rising sunlight completely.

There was a long bar with the usual cabinets with glasses and fridges with the drinks. On one of the five wooden barstools sat a dark figure huddled above her drink. She had silky black hair that almost reached her mid back. The drunken man stood up and stepped towards her, his step was unsteady and he had to keep hold of the chairs on his way to the bar.

She wore a jeans, low on her hips and it revealed the hem of her grey underwear, she wore a tight black shirt that left a great deal of her stomach bare. Her right ear was covered in earrings. First five simple black studs and then another three, small hoops at the top of her ear. Her eyes were closed as she swirled around the strong liquor in her cup. Her heavy boots made soft tapping sounds as she tapped the foot rest of her stool softly.

The man had finally made it to the stool next to her. He studied her profile in a drunken haze and marvelled at her beauty. She had a small pert little nose and he thought she had big eyes, even though they were closed. She had full, lips and her silky locks fell lightly into her eyes. « All that drinking isn't doing you any good and such a pretty girl you are! » he said loudly and giggled softly at his own funniness.

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I opened my eyes slowly when I heard his drunken slur. I first looked at the patron and glared at him, my eyes narrowed further when I saw him give me an apologetic smile. I was not in the mood to listen some drunken idiot give me his undivided attention.

I decided to ignore the drunk for now and took another sip of my saké putting the cup down. I had a feeling it was going to be a rather bad day. « Say! » the drunken man said, still slurring and his words stumbling over each other. I softly raised my head from my hunched position over my drink and tilted my head sideways so I could get a good look at him.

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The drunken man had to hold himself tight on the bar to keep from falling down flat on his face. The girl had hoped he would have fallen by now. But, as it was a bad day, he hadn't and continued to annoy her. « Say! » the man started « you're a real pretty girl! Do you have a boyfriend? » he started laughing. The girl slowly raised her head and turned it to the right. Through a few strands of hair the man could see her eye. It was black, eerie kind of black. The mans eyes widened as he saw the black eyes and, stumbling he got up and quickly moved back to his table where he almost hid in a corner.

The girl stayed on the barstool for a few moments before getting up, nothing showing she had just been drinking saké. She turned around and grabbed her jacket on the other barstool before placing some coins on the bar and nodded to the patron. He nodded back and gone she was.

When outside the dark haired girl leaned against the brick wall in the small, filthy street most of the walls lined with graffiti. Her eyes were closed as she heaved a sigh and then looked up to the sun, it's bright light streaming directly into the dark eyes, but Trinity seemed not bothered by it at all.

A few beggar were loitering about in the dark corners or grabbing around in the garbage. She yawned and then moved towards the sun, into Tokyo's better district and towards home.

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Hermione groaned softly under the weight of her grocery shopping, despite the early hour the young witch had gone shopping. She dropped her bags on the round table in the kitchen and started placing the groceries into the her white fridge that was going to get personalized soon. When everything was carefully stowed away Hermione gave her wand a little flick and her coffee machine sprang into life and started to rattle indicating her morning coffee was coming.

The walls of her apartment had been painted, the day before and her kitchen was now a welcoming soft green colour with a white tile floor. Her cabinets all white with soft green accents here and there. She had purposely chosen for the combining of muggle and wizard equipment, she was a bit of a klutz at some house holding spells, she'd noticed, so a washing machine and microwave were handy.

She walked from her little kitchenette towards her small bedroom where she dumped her heavy bag on the double bed and opened her wardrobe. After she had scanned the closet for a while she picked out a brown, pleated skirt and a grey blouse. Those she threw on her bed as well and then opened the drawer of a dresser on the other side of the room. She pulled out a simple cotton bra and panties taking those with her to the bathroom.

She entered and soon let the water of the tall shower in the corner stream and heat before she pulled off her clothes.

When she was all dried up and dressed into her underwear she walked back to her room, rubbing her bushy curls dry and started getting dressed. When she finished her outfit with a simple necklace and two studs. She put her brown bush together in a messy bun. Yes, she was ready for her first day of school and the tour of Tokyo and the university Dai was going to give her.

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« So this is were we're going to be taught about medicine, our teacher is Ebisu Hamacho, that makes Hamacho-sensei. Don't forget to add the sensei, Hermione-san, they don't like it if you do even if you're foreign. » Hermione nodded looking around the big rectangle room, there was a white board at the front and over 200 chairs were standing in precise lines all angles to have the best view of the board. The board and the space around it was a little higher then everything else, as if on a stage. All the chairs had a writing tablet instead of the usual armrest.

« Come on, we'll be spending enough time in here as it is. » Dai said, a small smile on her pink painted lips as she watched the bushy haired, western girl looking around. Hermione turned around and returned the smile « thanks again, for showing me around, Dai-san. » the girl shrugged, the smile never leaving her face « It's no trouble and just Dai is fine, Hermione-san. »

« Simply Hermione is fine too, Dai. » Hermione, though still a bit nervous, relaxed as Dai gave her another smile and nodded simply saying « Hermione then, come on, I'll give you the rest of the tour! » the young girl turned around and walked out of the room, soon followed by Hermione who cast one more backwards glance. They continued on through a hallway, passing identical wooden doors one by one. « In those rooms they teach History and maths and so. » Hermione nodded absentmindedly. « A bit further on is our next class where we'll study the old ways of healing and how it evolved. It's just a round the corner. »

Hermione's mind was wandering away from what Dai was saying as she thought of her plans in addition to these classes in medicine and the history of it she had also taken a course of potions and an easier study of Transfiguration though potions was her main subject and Transfiguration just the side dish. Hermione smiled of the possibilities of combining muggle medicine and healing with potions to create something wholly new.

It was because of her daydreaming that she failed to notice Dai stepping to side as they rounded the corner and the hurried footsteps coming from the other side. The two forms collided and a bunch of papers found their way to the ground as did Hermione and the other person.

« Ow… » Hermione gave a soft moan and rubbed her wrist though her bottom hurt much more. « Soleil-san! » she heard Dai gasp She looked up at the person with whom she just had her run in it was a very small build girl about her own age. She had a small pert little nose and big, blue eyes. Her silky blond hair was kept in a long tail trailing over her shoulder, her long fringe was cut rather uneven, some locks falling into her eyes, others not. White paper, some covered in the traditional Japanese kanji and others in western writings were all scattered over the hallway.

« I'm so sorry! » Hermione said, getting up hurriedly and starting to grab the papers while the blonde was still sitting on the floor looking at Hermione with interest. She shook her head then « Don't worry about it. » and then slowly got up, straightening her white blouse with soft yellow top underneath. She turned to Dai « Dai-san, I'm supposed to go back to Aizawa-sensei's office and pick up some more papers for room 112, could you get those while I sort these out? He said it was urgent. » she gave Dai a pleading look and the girl nodded. « I'll get them then. » and quickly stepped away.

« You can stop picking them up now, Hermione. » Hermione stopped and stared at the petit girl who gave her a bright smile. She extended her hand and all the papers immediately flew towards it, sorting themselves atop her hand. Hermione's eyes widened. « H- How did- » the girl let out a soft laugh « Know? I saw your picture, I'm supposed to give you your next tour of the other part of the university. » Hermione mouthed a little 'oh'

« Now I don't have time though, so introductions will have to wait. Could you be at the entrance of the main building tomorrow at ten? » Hermione nodded and before she could say another thing the girl had already moved on with her big stack of papers after giving her one last smile. Not soon thereafter Dai came running back, smiling. « Aizawa-sensei had already given the papers to someone else so we can continue. » Hermione nodded and Dai continued to give her the tour of the university

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Dean Thomas, who for the first in his entire time at Hogwarts got up early was walking down the big marble stairs on his way to the Great Hall. He noticed some students staring and he followed their gaze to the great oak doors, which where open and let in the morning cold. His mouth open in a half yawn suddenly close with a snap and then hung open again. He saw that their potions professor was standing there and behind him stood a woman.

He moved closer so to get a better look and his mouth remained open as he now could distinguish the woman's features. The woman had a normal face she wasn't extraordinary beautiful but she certainly qualified as pretty though Dean was shocked at the appearance. She had Weasley red hair, one side was shorter cut then the other and the odd strand covered her right eye. While the right side covered her ear the left side did not and it revealed her normal sized ear but Dean stared at the earrings covering her ear. She had simple studs as well as hoops but what caught most of Dean's attention was the single dangling earring. It was a simple silver cross.

The dark man and the redhead talked to each other quietly for a while before parting ways. Severus Snape stepping outside and continuing towards the exist of Hogwarts grounds while the woman entered the castle. When she was inside she gazed around her for a few moments, taking in the high ceiling and the students around her.

Then, surprising the gathered early-risers she pointed out a Hufflepuff third-year « Say… Any idea where I can find Albus Dumbledore? » the shy boy shook his head, his cheeks flushed and the student (that consisted mostly out of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, seeing that the Slytherins and Gryffindors had one thing in common « sleeping late is _good _»)

Dean swallowed and then raised his hand though it should have been futile as there was a large distance between the red haired woman and him but her head snapped up and regarded him. « Uh… I- I know. » she grinned, widely and he swallowed again. « Well then! Lead the way! » and he did, wondering why he'd done that.

The woman was a little creepy, with all the smiling.

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Hermione stood outside the university waiting for the blonde girl. The street was oddly deserted but Hermione guessed that when the school year began it would be busier. The Gryffindor shuffled her feet impatiently, the little girl she'd had a collision with the day before intrigued her a bit. She appeared very young but had used magic without a wand, very few wizards and witches were able to do wandless magic, and certainly not so casually. The only one she knew who could pull something like that off was Albus Dumbledore.

So for that reason Hermione had come five minutes early, an act she was now regretting for she was nervous and impatient. The Gryffindor know-it-all was lucky though, the girl had come a few minutes earlier as well. Hermione laughed and waved softly as the blonde ran across the street.

Hermione suddenly felt a bit self-conscious as she watched the girl move. Her pale blond hair appeared smooth and silky in the bright sunlight and her moves graceful. Hermione rather thought of herself as a clumsy person, shoulders hanging over with the heavy weight she carried with her everyday. Though today she only had a small shoulder bag with only a light notepad and pencil weighing it down.

Hermione felt more uncomfortable as the natural beauty approached, the bright smile lighting the girls pale skin up quite nicely. The witch's depressing thoughts were interrupted as the girl stopped in front of her, still smiling brightly. She wore a sleeveless soft-blue top and under it a short sleeved white blouse with matching pale jeans Hermione noted and she wondered if the girl always dressed so brightly.

« Hey! » she said cheerfully, without the traditional greetings. « So, Hermione right? » Hermione nodded, giving the girl a soft smile if it was possible the blonde's smile widened even more. « Yes, well, I'm Soleil and I'm sorry about yesterday but I was really in a hurry. » Hermione shrugged « It was my fault, really so I'm sorry too. » Soleil laughed softly, a high, clear laugh.

Hermione thought for a moment. Soleil was French for sun, which was sort of… Appropriate for a bright girl as the one in front of her. « Are you French? » Hermione inquired politely. Soleil shrugged, the smile never leaving her face « Sort of. » she gazed at the clear sky for a moment, her face thoughtful « If you don't want to answer… I mean. » Hermione quickly intervened, hoping she hadn't inquired into business that was not her own.

Soleil blinked, her sparkling blue eyes turning from the sky to Hermione's face, surprised then she laughed again. Again the high clear sound. « I was found by a travelling French circus, raised by one of the coordinators. » she grinned « Parce que je parle un petit peu de francais. Toi? » Hermione frowned for a moment, translating the rapid speech. « Oui, » she said « un très petit peu. J'ai allé au la France un fois, dans la grande vacance d' école. » Soleil stared at Hermione for a moment, the British witch blushed at the amusement evident in the girls expression.

« Let's keep it at English, shall we? » a now, smaller smile splaying at the soft pink lips « I'm quite smug about my French, and I don't want competition, really. » she sighed theatrically, her pale hand covering her eyes and then the smile came back. « Okay what shall we do?! » she pretended to think for a moment with a loud 'hmmm' with closed eyes. « Yes, yes! To the university! » she grasped Hermione's hand and all but ran towards the big entrance.

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Hermione sighed and whipped the sweat off her brow. August was a warm month in east-Asia and she was glad that Soleil had skipped most of the tour inside the hot, stuffy building in favour for a delicious ice-cream. The girls were both enjoying their ice silently at first sight Hermione had thought that Soleil was a typical chatter-mouth but it was quite the opposite, she was a (albeit not silent) respectful girl with a lot of knowledge concerning the university. Much more then Dai had.

She heaved another sigh, also glad that they had found (or that Soleil had showed her) a small shop with good ice cream and the some plastic tables outside. Big trees covering them in a pleasantly cool shadow.

A soft giggle interrupted Hermione's thoughts, she looked up from her ice cream, liking it swiftly when noticing it was melting. Soleil was giggling, holding her hand in front of her mouth so it wouldn't be too loud. Hermione blinked, confused and Soleil quickly leaned in. « Those two guys over there are arguing, it's _hilarious_. » Hermione frowned the two young males were really arguing but their heated voices were fast and she could hardly make out the individual words much less understand them.

« What's it about? » Soleil's giggle became louder « they're arguing about us a stupid riddle. You know it, probably. » she smothered another giggle. Hermione sighed and Soleil, getting it straightened up. « If there was a tree that fell over but there was no one to hear it, would there be any sound? I must say, their arguments are… Fascinating. » she shook her head. Hermione smiled softly when hearing the riddle, she and her father had argued over it many times.

« You didn't understand them? They were quite loud a moment ago, before the patron » she nudged her blond head in the direction of the inside of the shop. « Don't speak Japanese? » Hermione shook her head « Most of my courses are English and I'm taking a Japanese class but I doubt it'll go very well, I'm terrible with languages. » Soleil popped the last of her ice cream in her mouth and swallowed, obviously not troubled by the cold. « You could buy a Magi-Jap-Eng-Translator, you know plug it in and it translates what other people say… » Hermione nodded.

« Those are very expensive though. » she sighed wistfully, it would be an incredible convenience having something like that. Soleil shrugged « Have you checked out our version of Diagon Alley? » Hermione looked surprised and shook her head in a negative. « Price'll be the same. » she murmured through her ice-cream, only half way finished. Soleil grinned, « Give me your notepad. »

Five minutes later Hermione had a detailed plan of how to get to Sato no Tsuji (the Japanese version of Diagon alley) and how to find a peculiar house where there would be a man who was going to sell her the translator at a fair enough price and where she was going to wait for her and then give her a tour of Diagon alley.

« So there, it won't be a problem. » Soleil grinned and at that moment her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She picked it up and opened it with a cheerful « Hello, Soleil here! » they then went on in a rapid Japanese where Hermione could make heads nor tails out. After three minutes Soleil closed it and gave Hermione another bright smile. « I'm really sorry but I have to go. My twin's making a big deal out of herself. » she grinned good naturedly as she put some coins on the table, paying for both « I'll see you tomorrow then? So you'll have your translator before classes… Okay, bye then, Hermione! » and she skipped out of sight.

Hermione stared after her for a few seconds then shook her head and finished her ice cream before heading home.

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TRANSLATOR

Saké: A strong alcoholic drink, popular in Asia. I think it's made of rice.

(I hope, if there's anyone who actually speaks French he (or she) won't be insulted by my horrible attempt. It's right up there as worst subject with math.)

Parce que je parle un petit peu de francais. Toi?: That's why I talk a little French. You?

« Oui, » she said « un très petit peu. J'ai allé au la France un fois, dans la grande vacance d' école. » : Yes, she said, a little bit. I went to France one time during the summer holiday.

AN: Hmmm… I don't really have much to say! R&R? Please? D


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